This specification relates to components of additive manufacturing systems, including three dimensional (3D) printers, such as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers.
3D printers employ additive manufacturing techniques, where a product can be built by the addition of materials. Various types of additive manufacturing techniques can be employed, including granular techniques (e.g., Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)) and extrusion techniques (e.g., FFF). In addition, various types of 3D printer structures are employed for 3D printing. For example, FFF 3D printers include both Cartesian (xyz) type 3D printers and delta type 3D printers. In typical Cartesian (xyz) type 3D printers, a carriage for a hot end for an extruder, and/or a build platform, is connected with rails that extend in the three different dimensions of printing (x, y & z). In contrast, in typical delta type 3D printers, a carriage for a hot end for an extruder is connected by arms with three rails that extend in only the z direction, and the carriage is moved in three dimensions by independently adjusting the positions of end points of the arms along the three rails. In addition, modular 3D printer systems have been proposed, in which exchangeable components can include printheads having different configuration and functionalities.